ZYKLUS

Nothing Was Lost

Six million people live inside a mountain, ten levels deep. Heat rises — so the poor live at the top, in the heat, and the rich at the bottom, in the cool.

Go down
01

Level One

The top · the heat
Looking up the great shaft, every level lit, a pale square of light at the very top
Level One
Look at …

The heat of six million people rises and collects here. Level One is crowded, loud and poor — and the closest anyone lives to the rock above.

Going down
02

Level Two

Offices · investigators · paper
A crowded morning corridor; people make half a step of room for a big man with a mechanical arm
Level Two — morning
Look at …

On Level Two the city keeps its records — and its investigators. One of them is actually thorough. That is about to become a problem for somebody.

Going down
04

Level Four

The growing halls
Endless rows of growing racks under red lamps
Level Four — the halls
Look at …

The city feeds itself in halls under red lamps. Somewhere in these numbers is the first thing that doesn't add up.

Going down
09

Level Nine

Freight · halls · the council
A freight hall full of blue containers; under one lid, a pair of eyes
Level Nine — 5:20 a.m.
Look at …

Cooler now. Quieter. Level Nine moves the city's goods — and keeps a small council room where a record can be amended for seven days. After that, it is what's in it. Forever.

Going down
10

Level Ten

The bottom · the cool · the Houses
A young woman slides on her knees under a closing door; the floor stripes glow red
Level Ten — the outer ring
Look at …

At the bottom of the city it is cool, quiet and rich. Ceilings of four metres, old wood, the two great Houses: Sarn and Vesk. One evening, every light on Lian Sarn's way home turns red. Her door won't open. And someone has reported her in connection with a death.

Found: 0

You've reached the bottom

What's above the rock?

For two hundred years the surface has been habitable again. Nobody down here knows. And the people who find out keep disappearing.

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A new episode every Friday · 8 pm Berlin time · BRACKS every Wednesday from 21 October

01

Locked Out

Every light turns red, her door won't open — and a dead man knocks.

Fri · Oct 9
02

Bought

Hiding in the laundries of Level Eight — while House Vesk makes the hunter an offer.

Fri · Oct 16
03

Nothing From Before

Stripped of her name, Lian vanishes into the cold of Level Five.

Fri · Oct 23
04

She Calculates

Under a false name, Lian finds out what the city is missing.

Fri · Oct 30

Lian Sarn

Calculates when she's afraid.

Toren Vesk

Reported dead. Knocking at 1:20.

Erek Bracks

The one who is thorough.

Halen

Politeness as a procedure.

Meret Sarn

Never more than five sentences.

Malin

Tidies up instead of answering.

Adapted from the ZYKLUS novels by Tim Mecklenburg. The story and the world are written by a human author; narration, voices, the faces of the speaking characters, illustrations and music are created with the help of artificial intelligence (disclosure under Art. 50 of the EU AI Act). Zyklus is German for cycle.